Gone Fishing

The day promised bright Florida sunshine, although the temperatures did not match. We were scheduled to head out on a fishing charter at 7 a.m., but Captain Kevin had called to say we should shoot for an afternoon on the water instead, as the fish were likely to be too cold to bite in the morning. The small craft warning on the Gulf of Mexico was, no doubt, part of the reason.

Still, eight of us bundled up and headed out on the water to catch ... hopefully not a cold. So, armed with a cashmere sweater, undershirt, fleece jacket, wind jacket, wool scarf and Cepacol, I cast into the water (which at 58 degrees was warmer than the air) and waited.

We were in two boats, and after the first stop yielded nada, we went our separate ways to see what was biting elsewhere. Captain Ray found the right spot, and soon my mother and brother were bringing in sheepshead, redfish, ladyfish and others. None were keepers at this point. I mainly fed the fish ... until I landed a 27-inch ocean trout (shown at right with the captain). For a man whose enthusiasm for taking crazy Northerners fishing on a Sunday afternoon was minimal at best, the captain was suddenly animated. This, he claimed, was the catch of a lifetime. Many men, experienced fishermen, dream of catching this type of fish. She was fat and full of eggs, so after she measured larger than our cooler, she was released to restock the waters.

Soon we were rewarded threefold. My brother caught a trout that was a keeper; and I landed two redfish. Redfish suffered from overfishing due to the Paul Prudhomme blackening craze, so the only way to have a true blackened redfish these days is to catch it yourself.

My nephew David also landed a redfish on the other boat. Once our (very cold) afternoon was up, we headed back in, and the captains filleted our fish for our New Year's Eve celebration dinner the following night.

The next day, my brother Kevin, who has been surf fishing for seven years off Indian Rocks Beach, caught five sheepshead (appropriate, because one of his first jobs in retail was at Macy's in Sheepshead Bay, N.Y.). Without a captain, he and brother William had the pleasure of gutting and scaling the fish.

The fish were prepared on both the grill in a skillet (blackening outside) and in foil packets in the oven. The fillet of beef, prepared as a backup, did not get top billing.

So with family, and a huge platter of fish, we toasted to a joyful end of 2012 and a healthy 2013.

May your new year be plentiful with love, good food, friends and family.